Do you know where this is?

Sunday

Jul 28, 2013 at 6:00 AMJul 29, 2013 at 5:39 AM

The best guess for the date of this photo is sometime in the 1920s, and that's mostly because of two factors — the Chandler Motor Co. dealership in the background, and the structure that peeks out from behind it.

Before General Motors, Ford and Chrysler basically cornered the market (with a few exceptions) on automobile production, there was plenty of room for smaller manufacturers. The Chandler Motor Co. was one of them, and it enjoyed success in the 1920s by offering up to 10 models. It also offered a lower-priced sister car called the Cleveland; the company was bought out and the name discontinued by 1929.

The gas station pictured here sold Atlantic Gasoline, which later merged with the Richfield Oil Co. to become ARCO. Gas was 16 cents a gallon at the time of the photo, and a hand crank is visible on the pump closest to the dealership. The first Atlantic gas station opened in 1915 in Pittsburgh.

The gas is long gone, but the parcel still has an automotive use today. According to the reader who submitted this photo, the man standing in front of the office is the original owner. His son also owned the business for many years, until selling it to the current owner in the late 1970s.

According to the current owner, to the right of the office was a large, earthen pit that served as a precursor to the underground bays found at most modern oil change businesses.

A "Private Street: Dangerous" sign once hung on the corner of Incinerator Drive; the street was later renamed. The main road in the picture was once called the main highway into the city; it was widened into a double street with a parkway in the center from 1906 to 1912.